Handle



J. `F. BUYS HANDLE Filed Dec. 5, 1940 Jan, 19, 1943.

Patented Jan. 19, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HANDLE J ames F. Buys, :Blue Island, Ill.

Application December 5, 1940, Serial No. 368,584 'K I 4 Claims. (Cl. 215-100) This invention relates to handles and more I particularly to a handle adapted for removable attachment to a bottle having an enlargement at the upper end of the neck, for instance, bottles of the crown cap sealed type.

Although a handle incorporating the present invention can be used with bottles of various sizes, it is particularly useful in converting crown cap sealed bottles of the half gallon size into jugs so that they may be handled more easily.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel low cost device which may be quickly attached to a bottle to convert the bottle into a Jug.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a novel handle which may be quickly attached to bottles of diierent sizes so as to enable the bottles to be handled more easily, and which may be quickly removed from one bottle and attached to a diiferent bottle of like type.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle shown with a handle incorporating the present invention secured thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bottle shown in Fig. 1 with the handle attached thereto shown in vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 also shows in phantom one position assumed by the handle during its attachment to the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a fractional sectional view taken through the bottle along the line 3-3 looking downwardly as indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a fractional horizontal sectional view through the lower portion of the handle, and may be considered as taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The handle of the present invention is shown in conjunction with a half gallon crown cap sealed bottle II) of the type usually used to contain beer, chemical bleaches used in the household, and other liquids. A bottle of this type comprises a large cylindrical body portion provided at its upper end with a generally tapering neck I2, toward the upper end of which a shoulder I4 is provided.'

The handle is comprised of aring I 6, made preferably of steel wire, which is adapted to encircle the neck of the bottle beneath the shoulder I4. This ring, which is sufficiently large to slip over the upper end of the bottle neck and over the shoulder I4, has armsl extending outwardly away from the major portion of the loop. Toward their outward ends, at a distance of a matter of three-fourths of an inch or so from the bottle neck, these arms are bent into alignment facing each other. #A piece of strip metal 20 is bent over at one end at 22 and crimped around the aligned portions of the arms I8, so that the strip metal is journaled to pivot about thevaligned portions of the arms I 8, but is prevented from being separated therefrom.

The extreme upper end of the strip 20 is bent outwardly to form a clamping member 24 having its end formed with an arcuate re-entrant surface 25 adapted generally to iit the curvature of the bottle neck. This clamping member 24 is so proportioned that when the strip 2f! is rotated relative to the ring I6 in such a manner that the clamping member 24 points substantially downwardly, the ring can be slipped over the shoulder Iii. However, when the strip 20 is rotated so as to move the clamping member 24 upwardly, thew arcuate portion will embrace the neck of the bottle beneath the shoulder I4, and continued re1- ative movement between the ring and the strip 2l) will clamp the ring I5 tightly about the bottle neck with the clamping member 24 extending substantially radially outwardly at right angles to the bottle neck.

Just beneath the ring I6 the strip 20 is bent downwardly and inwardly toward the bottle so that when'the clamping member 24 is in clamped position, that is, is extending substantially straight inwardly from the ring to the bottle neck, a curved portion 28 of the strip 20 will rest against the bottle neck in a position somewhat below the shoulder I4. From the point `28, the strip is bent so that it extends downwardly and outwardly and is further bent to form a handle which can be grasped in the hand of the user. At its lower end 3i), the strip is bent inwardly and upwardly and is secured by means of rivets 32, spot welds or other suitable attaching means to a second bottle embracing strip 34 extending at right angles thereto. This second strip 34 is generally arcuate in shape and has a radius of curvature somewhat less than the radius of curvature of the bottle to which the handle is intended to beattached, while its length is approximately one-fourth the bottles circumference.

The outward ends of the strip 34 are bent sharply outwardly and somewhat rearwardly, i. e., somewhat more than to provide tabs 36 at each end of the strip 34. One of these tabs has a hole 38 punched therethrough, through which one end of a single jack chain 40 is secured. The other of these tabs is provided with a radially outwardly extending slot 42. The width of this slot is somewhat greater than the thickness of the wire from which the jack chain is made, but is considerably less than the width of the chain links.

The strip 20 is so sh-aped below the portion 28 resting against the neck of the bottle that when rthe clamping member 24 is clamped beaway from the neck of :the bottle when said clamping member is in unclamping position, a

it will be necessary to over-come the springiness inherent in the lstrip 2D. Likewise, since the radius of curvature of the bot't-l-e embracing strip 34 is somewhat less than the radius of curvature of the bottle, it will be necessary .to clamp the` handle against the bottle with sui'ci'ent force to spring the outer ends of the strip 34 outwardly somewhat in order to bring the central portion of this member aga-inst the bottle.

In attaching my handle to a bottle, the handle *isV rotated outwardlyrelative to the ring suicient- Ily to permit the ring to be slipped over the neck of the bottle and intoa position beneath the shoulder I4. The handle i-s then `swung inwardly to bring the clamping member 24 beneath the shoulder I4 and to cause the yring tightly to embrace the bottle neck. The lower portion of the handle is ,then pressed inwardly toward the bottle against the springine'ss of the strips 2S and 34 to bring the inner face of the strip 3ft into close embracement of the bottle surface. With the handle held in this position, :the chain 40 is wrapped around the bottle and pulled comparativelytight and one of the links near its free end is hooked into the slot 42. The handle is then released and permitted to spring outwardly slightly away from the lower portion of the bottle-to tighten the chain 40.

Since the degree of adjustment of the chain is limited by the spacing between the links' -ofv the chain, it will be appreciated that it will seldom be possible to have the strip 3'4 in full contact with the lower portion of the bottle after the handle'has been released. However, because of vthe springiness in the `stripsZ and 34, the slack in the 'chain will be taken up, and the handle will be prevented from becoming separated from the bottle even though its lower end may be spaced outyardly from the bottle a matter of a quarter oi an inch or so.

To remove the handle from the bottle, it is necessary merely to press the handle inwardly slightly and unhook the chain from'the slot 42, after which the handle can be swung outwardly and the ring iB lifted from the bottle neck.

From the above description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be seen that I have provided a handle for a bottle that is read- .ily atta-enable and removable from the bottle, and

that this handle can be manufactured by modern production methods at very low cost. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire-to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A handle for attachment to a bottle comprising a loop toslip over thebottle neck, a clamping member rotatably attached' to the loop andradapted when in one position to clamp the loeptightly about the bottle neck, a portion eX- tending downwardly from the loop and attached Y to the clamping member and adapted when the clamping member is in clamping position to rest against the side of the `bottle at -a point below said clamping member and to stand outwardly bottle embracing member secured to the lower end of the said portion, and means to secure the bottle embracing member Vto *the lower portion of ythe bottle after the downwardly extending portion has been rotated from unclamping to cl-amp- VVing position, the last said means being adapted to prevent unclamping of said clamping member by preventing outward movement of the downwardly extending portion attached to the clamping member.

2. A handlefor attachment to a bottle having a neck with a shoulder thereon, `comprising a loop to slip over the bottle neck into a position beneath the shoulder, a clamping member rotatably lattached to the loop and adapted when in one position to Yclamp the loop tightly aboutl the bottle neck, a portion extending downwardly from' the loop and attached to the clamping member and adapted whenA in free position to be inclined generally outwardly away from the lbottle when the clamping member is in clamping position, the said portion being formed of spring material', a bottle embracing member secured near the lower end of the last said portion and being formed to extend partially around the face of the bottlega chain secured to one end of said bottle embracing member, and means at the other end of said Vbottle embracing memberV adapted for attachment to said chain.

3. A handle for attachment to a bottle having Y a neck with a shoulderv thereon, comprising a loop to sllip over the bottle neck into a position beneath vthe shoulder, a clamping member rotatably attached to the loop and adapted when Y in one position to clamp the loop tightly about the bottle neck, a portion extending downwardly and inwardly from 'the loop and attached to the clamping member and adapted to rest against the bottle when the clamping member is in clamping position, the last said portion having a further extension inclined downwardly and out-` ber, and means at the other end of said bottle embracing member adapted for attachment to said chain'.

4. A handle for attachment to a bottle having a neck with -a shoulder thereon, comprising aY loop to slip overlthe bottle neck into a position beneath the shoulder, a clamping member rotatably attached to the loop and adapted when in one posi-tion t'oclamp the loop tightly about the bottle neck, a"portion Yextending generally downwardly from the loop and attached to the clamping member and adapted when in free position to be inclined generally outwardly away from the bottle when the clamping member is in clamping position, the :said portion. being formed of Vspring material, a bottle embracing member secured in the lower end` ofthe last said portion and-adapted tostand away from the side of the bottle whenthe last saidfportion is in free position, a chainsecured to one end of said bottle embracing member, and means at the other end ofsa-id bottle embracing member adapted for attachment to said chain.

l JAMES F. BUYS. 

